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Speaker 1: Hey, buddies, it's me Josh, and for this week's select

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Speaker 1: I've chosen our May twenty twenty episode on hummingbirds, one

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Speaker 1: of the best animals of all time. For my money.

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Speaker 1: They're cute, there's a bunch of amazing facts about them,

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Speaker 1: and they're ornery little cusses too, which makes them great. Enjoy.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and

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Speaker 1: there's Charles w Chuck Bryant and Jerry's flitting around here

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Speaker 1: here there, darting to and fro like a little ruby

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Speaker 1: throated Hundur and Emerald and this is stuff you should know.

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Speaker 3: I saw Jerry.

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Speaker 1: I know, I heard Jerry.

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Speaker 3: That's all with my own two eyes.

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Speaker 1: How's she doing? Is her hair just completely white? Now?

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean we were fifteen feet away from each other,

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Speaker 2: so I couldn't tell.

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Speaker 1: What did you try squinting?

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Speaker 2: I did, and I shaved so she didn't even recognize me.

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Speaker 1: I know, I saw that picture. Man, you look great.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks so nice.

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Speaker 1: It's just luxurious.

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Speaker 3: Well, all the beard's coming back already, huh from.

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Speaker 2: The second I shaved it. Technically it started coming back.

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Speaker 1: That is true. Are you one of those people who say, like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: from the moment we're born, we start dying.

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Speaker 3: No, God, I hate those people. They're the pits now

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Speaker 3: hung growing it back out. It was just a little, uh,

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Speaker 3: just a little change of pace, you know.

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Speaker 1: That's good. Must have felt really weird.

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Speaker 3: It does still feel pretty weird at times.

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Speaker 1: Oh that's good.

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Speaker 3: Well four days later.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, So, Chuck, I want to talk about something

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Speaker 1: else that's weird besides the feeling of having just shaved

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Speaker 1: off a beard after fifteen million years, which.

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Speaker 2: By the way, if you want to see that picture,

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Speaker 2: you can go to the movie Crush page on Facebook

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Speaker 2: and see that.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely and they'll continue. The weird thing I want to

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Speaker 1: talk about today, Chuck, are hummingbirds. They're great hummingbirds. Yes,

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Speaker 1: so they are weird, but they're weird in all of

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Speaker 1: like the most delightful ways. I love hummingbirds, love them,

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Speaker 1: and I love them even more now that I know

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Speaker 1: more about them.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Good eating.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you just grab the air, snap the wings off,

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Speaker 1: and pop it.

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Speaker 2: Like you think a quail doesn't produce much meat. Hummingbird

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Speaker 2: gotta have like forty of those for dinner.

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Speaker 1: At least that might just be an appetizer.

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Speaker 3: Good luck catching them though, right.

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Speaker 1: They are hard to catch. But I have a story.

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Speaker 1: There was a hummingbird once that got into my house

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Speaker 1: and it was freaking out. It was basically just smacking

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Speaker 1: its head against the ceiling. Oh, I know, it was

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Speaker 1: very sad. So I got a chair and I just

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Speaker 1: held my hand up just right by it, and it

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Speaker 1: stopped freaking out and perched on my hand. I had

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Speaker 1: a hummingbird perched motionlessly on my hand, and it stayed

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Speaker 1: there long enough for me to stick my hand out

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Speaker 1: the window and it flew off.

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Speaker 3: How many years ago is this?

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Speaker 1: That was a while back?

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Speaker 3: I mean, were you a child?

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Speaker 1: No, No, I was a man. I must have smelled

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Speaker 1: great too, because the hummingbird chose to trust me. But

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Speaker 1: I thought that was just one of the coolest things ever.

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Speaker 2: That's pretty amazing. A guy in our neighborhood yesterday got

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Speaker 2: attacked by an owl. So that's on the other end

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Speaker 2: of the bird human interaction spectrum.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, an owl or the Jersey devil.

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Speaker 3: It really apparently it's not uncommon.

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Speaker 1: To get attacked by an owl.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, we've got a big one that makes

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Speaker 2: an almost every evening, fly over our backyard to the

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Speaker 2: big forest behind our yard from across the street, and

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Speaker 2: we love this thing. But I didn't know that. I

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Speaker 2: didn't know that they attacked people like this, But it happens.

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Speaker 1: Is your neighbor talking rabbit.

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Speaker 2: I don't have a neighbor to where it goes. It's

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Speaker 2: an empty house, so maybe that's why they like it.

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Speaker 1: So no, who is at tech though your neighborhood.

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Speaker 2: Not a neighbor, but just I saw it on the

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Speaker 2: neighborhood facebook page. Some guy was attacked, like the owl

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Speaker 2: came down and talented his head. That's crazy, isn't dude?

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Speaker 2: Can you imagine that that killed? I wonder if the

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Speaker 2: guy was like, oh, look, because owls are huge. I

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Speaker 2: wonder if he's like, man, look at that thing. Hey,

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Speaker 2: he's coming at me, and then all of a sudden,

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Speaker 2: you've got talents in your skull.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, all right, stop diverting attention from hummingbirds.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so hummingbirds they are with the family. Uh. I

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Speaker 3: had it.

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Speaker 2: I had it earlier, and it's really not hard. Uh

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Speaker 2: trokol a day trouk adillay tk a day chuck ala

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Speaker 2: day chok a le day and they are related to

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Speaker 2: the swifts. Yeah, and you know hummingbirds, he said, the

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Speaker 2: little bitty fellas. They weigh between two and twenty grams.

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Speaker 2: They have those long pointy noses that they love to

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Speaker 2: stick in flowers, and they have these wings that and boy,

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Speaker 2: when we get into the fascinating facts about the hummingbird

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Speaker 2: and those little wings, it gets pretty amazing. But one

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Speaker 2: of the things I'm gonna go ahead and spoil from

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Speaker 2: later in this stuff you put together was that what's

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Speaker 2: so remarkable about hummingbirds and how they fly is that

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Speaker 2: they you know, usually when you see a bird fly,

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Speaker 2: they flap down and that provides their lift. A hummingbird's like,

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Speaker 2: no way, buddy, you gotta get that thing working in

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Speaker 2: both directions.

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Speaker 3: Double your pleasure, up and down.

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Speaker 2: That is how a hummingbird is able to hover and

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Speaker 2: go and reverse and do all those crazy things is

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Speaker 2: because it's not just flapping, it's flippin' and flappin'.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they're the only vertebrate animal that can hover like

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Speaker 1: a helicopter.

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Speaker 2: It's like The Blue Thunder of Birds.

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Speaker 1: Wasn't that Roy Scheider movie? Yeah? I think I wasn't

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Speaker 1: allowed to watch that because there's some sexy stuff in there.

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Speaker 2: There is that, yeah, the blue thunderpeaks and some windows,

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Speaker 2: if you know what I mean.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And it came out at a time when I

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Speaker 1: would watch movies with my mom and she was like,

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Speaker 1: you need to leave the room. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I don't think I was allowed to watch it at

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Speaker 2: first either, but I think I might have snuck it.

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Speaker 1: Oh, I see what you mean. So one of the

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Speaker 1: things that that makes hummingbirds so well known, aside from

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Speaker 1: their incredible agility and being the only vertebrate that can

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Speaker 1: hover in mid air, is just the look of them. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Because if you've ever looked at a hummingbird from afar,

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Speaker 1: you're like, oh, that thing's okay. It's just a kind

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Speaker 1: of a normal looking bird. And then it just moves

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Speaker 1: and catches the sunlight just right. Yeah, and all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, this splash of metallic jewel like color just

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Speaker 1: crosses its throat and chest, and you say, the hummingbird

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Speaker 1: is truly great.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's amazing.

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Speaker 2: It's sort of like the butterfly wings and that if

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Speaker 2: you catch it at the right angle, you get that metallic,

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Speaker 2: sort of shiny color and it's sort of for the

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Speaker 2: same reason you those gorgets, which is that that reflective

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Speaker 2: stuff on the upper chest of the hummingbird, and like

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Speaker 2: the throat area, it's not actual pigment.

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Speaker 3: It is the structure, the physical structure of those feathers.

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Speaker 2: It's little air bubbles inside there that reflect that light.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm pretty sure we I mean, we did

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Speaker 1: an episode on butterfly wings.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, iridescence.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it is the exact same

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Speaker 1: thing in butterfly wings is in that gorget that clutch

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Speaker 1: of feathers in the humming bird.

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Speaker 3: Pretty cool.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so it not only reflects it, but also like

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Speaker 1: bulks it up too. Pretty neat stuff. So man, sorry,

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Speaker 1: I guess I'm kind of flemy today. I don't know why,

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Speaker 1: but my apologies for being flemy as right. So, one

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Speaker 1: thing I didn't realize about hummingbirds is there's three hundred

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Speaker 1: and thirty eight species that we know of, and all

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Speaker 1: of them are found in the Americas. Did you know that.

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Speaker 3: I don't think I did.

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Speaker 1: But they're found like all throughout the Americas, from Chile

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Speaker 1: all the way up to southern Alaska and Canada. They've

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Speaker 1: got a pretty wide range. But the thing is the

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Speaker 1: things are so small, so tiny, and so unable to

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Speaker 1: maintain a decent body temperature that they basically follow the

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Speaker 1: summer when they migrate.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and they all diverged from a single common ancestor

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Speaker 2: about twenty two million years ago. And the kind of

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Speaker 2: the cool thing is that they keep changing and their

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Speaker 2: rate of speciation is really pretty incredible. It's it's supposedly

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Speaker 2: going to outpace their rate of extinction and we're going

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Speaker 2: to see well we won't see it because we'll.

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Speaker 1: Be dead in the next forty years, Okay.

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Speaker 2: But human beings, if we're still around, that is, are

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Speaker 2: going to see the number of species of hummingbird double

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Speaker 2: to what we have today. But it's going to be

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Speaker 2: a few million years, so don't expect that anytime soon.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but it is pretty cool just to think that,

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Speaker 1: you know, they're still in the midst of their evolutionary

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Speaker 1: history and like right in the middle of it, you know, Yeah, totally.

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Speaker 1: I like that about them. So, you know, being that

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Speaker 1: multi varied species all the way from Patagonia up to Alaska,

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Speaker 1: they have learned to adapt to a bunch of different

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Speaker 1: niches and habitats, right, So you can find hummingbird species

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Speaker 1: in like sub sea level deserts. You can find them

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Speaker 1: up in the Andes. There's actually a lot of different

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Speaker 1: species that live in the Andes Mountains. You can find

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Speaker 1: the bulk of them in tropical forests around the tropics

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Speaker 1: of the New World. And they they've adapted like really

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Speaker 1: well to their different environments. Some migrate, some don't, but

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Speaker 1: all of them are very tiny.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they're cute little little things. As if you look

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Speaker 2: up a picture of the bee hummingbird, just prepare for

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Speaker 2: one of the cutest little I mean, it looks.

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Speaker 3: Like it looks fake.

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Speaker 1: Yeah it does.

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Speaker 2: You know, it doesn't look like a bird could actually

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Speaker 2: be that small without becoming an insect.

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Speaker 1: It's gonna just collapse into insect form or anyone.

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Speaker 3: But look it up online.

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Speaker 2: The little bee hummingbird from Cuba ways about one point

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Speaker 2: nine to five grams. We don't get those here in Georgia,

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Speaker 2: the only kind. And I think how many species are

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Speaker 2: there in the United States About seventeen or eighteen.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I saw, but only.

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Speaker 2: That ruby throated is the one that we're going to

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Speaker 2: get here on the East coast.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and just to go like to double that up,

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Speaker 1: man one point nine to five grams. Somebody did the math,

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Speaker 1: and you could mail fourteen of those things with one

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Speaker 1: postage stamp in the United States.

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Speaker 3: Just smash them down flat.

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Speaker 1: There's not yet, right, There's not a single species of

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Speaker 1: hummingbird that breaks an ounce in weight, which is to

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Speaker 1: say that the largest hummingbird species there is the giant hummingbird,

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Speaker 1: which is kind of a contradiction in terms. It's still

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Speaker 1: smaller than an Atlantic canary. Wow, the giant hummingbird is

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Speaker 1: still canary size. So this is a very tiny group

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Speaker 1: of birds.

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Speaker 2: Well, and this is the stat that gets me, And

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Speaker 2: this is the one I texted Emily because we love

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Speaker 2: our hummingbirds like all normal humans. Sure, the eggs of

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Speaker 2: the ruby throated hummingbird that we have here in Georgia

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Speaker 2: are the size of ap Can you believe that?

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Speaker 1: Did you look up their nests? Pictures of their nests?

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Speaker 3: Oh?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, gorgeous. It looks like something you'd buy on Etsy.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: They look kind of like made of felt. Because hummingbirds

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Speaker 1: use spider silk. They take old spider webs and use

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Speaker 1: them as thread to weave like their nests, along with

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Speaker 1: plant fibers and leaves and twigs to give it kind

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Speaker 1: of this spongy, velvety, super cush feel for their little.

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Speaker 3: Babies, velvety mouthfeel exactly exactly. So we're going to.

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Speaker 2: Talk a lot about the hummingbird flying and because it's

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Speaker 2: pretty remarkable.

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Speaker 3: It's one of the most remarkable things in nature.

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Speaker 2: Like I think it's right up there with like the

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Speaker 2: chromatophores of the octopus. And I was about to spoil

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Speaker 2: our live show, but maybe I should.

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Speaker 3: Are we ever going to be on stage again?

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Speaker 1: I don't know, but let's just hold on to it

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Speaker 1: just in case.

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Speaker 3: All right, we're going to keep that in our back pocket.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: But the wings, the wing muscles of a hummingbird account

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Speaker 2: to about twenty five to thirty percent of its total

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Speaker 2: body weight. Yeah, so this thing is all like it

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Speaker 2: never has legs day at the gym. It's always doing

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Speaker 2: upper body and the legs are tiny and weak, and

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Speaker 2: they really don't walk. I mean, they can perch, but

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Speaker 2: if you see a hummingbird, they're going to be moving.

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Speaker 2: If you notice, you never see a hummingbird just kind

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Speaker 2: of strolling around in your on your deck or something.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they kind of have legs similar to David Cross's

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Speaker 1: character in that Titanica sketch from Mister Show.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, do you remember?

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Speaker 1: I do. So he's kind of hummingbird like in that respect.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, if your legs are that weak and your

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Speaker 1: wings are that strong, you're going to spend most of

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Speaker 1: your time in mid air. And they basically do. Although

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Speaker 1: they do, you know, they nest on branches, They sleep

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Speaker 1: on branches, they do perch they made on branches, as.

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Speaker 3: We'll see, perch on your finger.

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Speaker 1: Apparently they palm in your hand.

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Speaker 3: Oh it was palming your hand.

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Speaker 1: It was a pall in my hand. Yeah, I give

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Speaker 1: it plenty of space.

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Speaker 3: Okay, I gotcha.

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Speaker 1: And then they also sometimes will sleep upside down, just

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Speaker 1: kind of dang from a twig or something with their

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Speaker 1: spinley little legs like a bat.

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Speaker 3: Oh wow.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. So the just some amazing stats about their ability

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Speaker 1: to fly. Like we said, they're the only vertebrate they

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Speaker 1: can hover in place. They can also fly upside down backward.

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Speaker 3: They're real show offs.

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Speaker 1: They really are big time show offs. They can get

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Speaker 1: up to speeds of more than forty five miles per hour.

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Speaker 1: God knows how many kilometers per hour that is. It's

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Speaker 1: a lot on some of their dives. But even like

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Speaker 1: an average speed for them of just flying around, you

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Speaker 1: know where they're not just you know, going from flower

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Speaker 1: to flower, but they're like say, traveling from place to place,

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Speaker 1: is you know, thirty plus miles an hour. That's pretty impressive.

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Speaker 3: No, it's super impressive.

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Speaker 2: And if you think, man, A, how fast are those

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Speaker 2: little wings going? And b what is their little cardiovascular

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Speaker 2: system doing, it's doing exactly what you think it is.

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Speaker 2: They have their heart beats about two hundred and twenty

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Speaker 2: five times permit when it's hanging out and doing nothing right,

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Speaker 2: about twelve hundred times a minute when it's flying, and

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Speaker 2: those wings range from seventy up and down strokes per

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Speaker 2: second or I wonder if that's if that counts as

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Speaker 2: one or two.

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Speaker 1: And I was wondering that myself, and I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: that that is answered. At the very least, we're not

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Speaker 1: going to answer it because we don't have that answer.

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Speaker 2: Well, how about it doesn't matter because either way it's

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Speaker 2: a ton. It's either it's seventy times per second when

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Speaker 2: they're just flying normally around to get some some good

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Speaker 2: sweet stuff. But that courtship dive, which we're going to

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Speaker 2: talk about a little later, that you mentioned about two

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Speaker 2: hundred times per second those wings are flapping.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I actually, now that you say it, if

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Speaker 1: they're kind of doubling up what a flap is, then

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Speaker 1: maybe hummingbirds aren't so impressive after.

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Speaker 3: All, lazies, so chuck.

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Speaker 1: When you're flapping your wings one hundred or two hundred

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Speaker 1: times per second, depending on whether you're counting the upbeats

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Speaker 1: and the down beats as a six flap or not,

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Speaker 1: you need like a lot of energy to do that,

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Speaker 1: and as a result, the hummingbird typically eats about two

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Speaker 1: to three times its own weight in food every day.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, like, if that was a human, you would let

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Speaker 2: me see here, let's the equivalent of about two hundred

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Speaker 2: and eighty five pounds of hamburger?

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Speaker 3: Is that? And three hundred and seventy pounds of potatoes?

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Speaker 1: No? I think each of these.

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Speaker 3: Okay, So take your pick.

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Speaker 2: If you want to eat just hamburger, it would be

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Speaker 2: two hundred and eighty five pounds a day. That's a

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Speaker 2: whole cow, that's yeah, I think a little bit. I

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Speaker 2: think cow's way more than that.

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Speaker 3: But right, well, but as far as usable beef, I

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Speaker 3: don't know.

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Speaker 1: There you go.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry for any vegetarians out there by me saying

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Speaker 2: usable beef.

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Speaker 3: Just maybe wretch in your mouth.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it's an album name now that I think about.

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Speaker 3: Usable Beef mm hmm by the band what Jungle X.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 3: So, yeah, they eat a lot because they need to, and.

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Speaker 1: It's like it's like Fourth of July for them every day. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: pretty much three two to three times their own weight

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Speaker 1: in food.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is uh, we're talking about just on

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Speaker 2: normal days. Can we talk a little bit about the

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Speaker 2: migration and what there need to beef up?

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Speaker 1: Then I think we should.

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Speaker 2: So they migrate like we like we talked about. They're

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Speaker 2: not exactly sure what triggers that they think. Maybe they

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Speaker 2: see the change in daylight like some other animals and

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Speaker 2: birds do, or maybe just the fact that flowers, you know,

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Speaker 2: what the flowers are doing.

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Speaker 1: But I think that that's the one, that's the big one,

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Speaker 1: because they they can't go for more than a few

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Speaker 1: hours without food, so they need to go where the

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Speaker 1: plants are flowering. Right, They just kind of follow.

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Speaker 2: That, and I guess they're always connected to that, those

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Speaker 2: subtle changes in the flowering exactly. So during this migration,

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Speaker 2: their heart beats about twelve hundred in sixty times a minute.

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Speaker 2: And they have to gain because they're trekking. I mean

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Speaker 2: sometimes they're flying over the Gulf of Mexico in one

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Speaker 2: shot over the course of a few days, so they

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Speaker 2: need to bulk up big time. They gain about twenty

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Speaker 2: five to forty percent of their body weight before they

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Speaker 2: start this migration. And if we're going to do the

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Speaker 2: human equivalent again for this, if you were a person

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Speaker 2: that weigh one hundred and seventy pounds, that means you'd

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Speaker 2: have to gain up to about two fifty five in

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Speaker 2: a few weeks time, right like Christian bale.

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Speaker 1: Esque, I know, in just a few weeks, man, that's crazy.

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Speaker 1: So one of the things that's so impressive about the

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Speaker 1: hummingbird is just how far it can fly in a day,

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Speaker 1: especially for how small it is. You know, they they

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Speaker 1: average something like twenty three miles a day when they're migrating.

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Speaker 1: But the ruby throated hummingbird the one that it's the

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Speaker 1: only one that you'll find east of the Mississippi. So

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Speaker 1: if you see a hummingbird in your east the Mississippi,

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Speaker 1: you can be like a ornithologist for once in your

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Speaker 1: life and be like, that's a ruby thrown at hummingbird.

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Speaker 1: They actually can travel for extraordinarily long stretches, and they

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Speaker 1: do because their winter and grounds are in the Yucatan,

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Speaker 1: but they hang out in Florida during the other part

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Speaker 1: of the year, I guess during the summer, and so

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Speaker 1: they travel over the Gulf of Mexico, they think, and

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Speaker 1: when they do that, they do it in like a

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Speaker 1: straight five hundred miles stretch within eighteen to twenty two

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Speaker 1: hours without stopping.

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Speaker 3: That's incredibly impressive.

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Speaker 1: It really is. But then there was a study in

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen that found they could go even further.

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Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, they said, you know, physiologically, in theory, they

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Speaker 2: could fly close to fourteen hundred miles without stopping if

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Speaker 2: they needed to.

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Speaker 1: That's crazy. That'd be like flying from Atlanta to Albuquerque.

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Speaker 3: That's nuts.

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Speaker 1: If you want a reference, that means nothing to nobody.

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Speaker 2: So if you're wondering when they rest, when they they

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Speaker 2: finally get down to that sweet soil in Mexico, they

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Speaker 2: can enter torpoor, which we've talked about before. It is

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Speaker 2: sort of hibernation light really deep sleep like state. Their

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Speaker 2: metabolic functions are really slowed. I think they can drop

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Speaker 2: their their body temperature by thirty to forty degrees fahrenheit.

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Speaker 2: They lower that heart rate from about twelve hundred bats

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Speaker 2: per minute to as few as fifty And they do

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Speaker 2: this after they after they migrate, but they can do

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Speaker 2: this anytime they need to, and they do.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they do. And also I think it depends on

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Speaker 1: where they live, because hummingbirds, like I said, a lot

404
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Speaker 1: of them live in the Andes, like high up on

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Speaker 1: the mountain side, and even in the summer, it can

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Speaker 1: get kind of cool there. So when the temperature cools

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Speaker 1: enough that it makes no sense for them to keep

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Speaker 1: up their metabolic rate to try to meet their one

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Speaker 1: hundred and five degree height body temperature, they'll enter torpor.

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Speaker 1: And that's just what they do for sleep. And one

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Speaker 1: of the other things that I wanted to point out

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Speaker 1: about them living in the Andes, Chuck, this is all

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Speaker 1: really just a segue for this amazing fact they live

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Speaker 1: in the Andes, despite the fact and there are some

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Speaker 1: species that are native to the Andies, not just like

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Speaker 1: migrating through. That's where they live is the Andes. Despite

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Speaker 1: the fact that they have these high metabolic rates and

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Speaker 1: they need more oxygen. Well, there's just inherently less oxygen

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Speaker 1: in the air up in the mountains, and it's harder

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Speaker 1: to hover because the air is thinner. And yet they

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Speaker 1: are so successful there in the andes that up above

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Speaker 1: a certain line, there's no insects, and so it's up

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Speaker 1: to the hummingbirds exclusively to pollinate all the flowering plants

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Speaker 1: up there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I mean, I think that's probably why they have the

427
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Speaker 2: market cornered up there. Sure they're like, all right, well

428
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Speaker 2: let's adapt so we can kind of own this area.

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Speaker 2: And not only that, I don't think we mentioned that

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Speaker 2: sometimes if you're a small enough hummingbird and there's a

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Speaker 2: big enough insect, the insect is can win that battle.

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Speaker 1: In hummingbird world, the insect eat you.

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Speaker 2: All Right, Branson, misery, Let's take a break.

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Speaker 1: I figured that was gonna trigger a break.

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Speaker 2: All right, we'll come back right now to talk more

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Speaker 2: about hummingbirds.

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Speaker 1: Okay, Chuck. So we're talking more about hummingbirds. One of

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Speaker 1: the things that I really feel like we just need

439
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:51,560
Speaker 1: to underscore here is that they are metabolic wonders. They'd

440
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,960
Speaker 1: live on this edge of survival where they will die

441
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 1: if they go a few hours without food. Like, do

442
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,119
Speaker 1: you know how many days you a human being and

443
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,960
Speaker 1: go without food before you die, as long as you

444
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,680
Speaker 1: have water and maybe access to a couple vitamins or whatever.

445
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:07,400
Speaker 3: I think we did a podcast on that at some point.

446
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,640
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure we did. Yeah, Angus Barber or Barbier,

447
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: I can't remember. They die within hours, so they constantly

448
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,360
Speaker 1: have to search for food sources.

449
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's why you see them flitting about constantly. They're

450
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 2: always looking for food.

451
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,359
Speaker 1: But it's also one of the reasons why they're known

452
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:33,480
Speaker 1: as potentially the most unsociable and most territorial bird in existence.

453
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, they don't like hanging out with each other. There

454
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,119
Speaker 2: are some exceptions that we're going to talk about, but

455
00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,399
Speaker 2: they generally don't like hang out together. They don't like

456
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:44,960
Speaker 2: hanging out with other birds. At the end of the day,

457
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,520
Speaker 2: when everyone's just sing songing by the shoreline, hummingbirds are like, no,

458
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,760
Speaker 2: screw you, guys, I got to eat. And not only

459
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,120
Speaker 2: do I have to eat, I gotta make little hummingbird

460
00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:00,280
Speaker 2: pea eggs. And we talked about this Courtship Dive kind

461
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:03,560
Speaker 2: of teased it out. This is pretty incredible and this

462
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,040
Speaker 2: is you know, a lot of times in mating rituals

463
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:10,080
Speaker 2: you'll see the males doing these kind of big fancy shows.

464
00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:11,480
Speaker 1: To try my card tricks.

465
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, try and dogs playing poker. That was that was

466
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 2: all about. Photographer was a female dog, that's right, And

467
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 2: so'll I guess it wasn't a photograph, was it. It was

468
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,639
Speaker 2: probably a painting now I think about it and stuff.

469
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 1: You should know a world. It was a photograph, but.

470
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,800
Speaker 2: It was a tin type so it was very old.

471
00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,760
Speaker 2: So it was funny. I was telling my daughter today

472
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,560
Speaker 2: about my bed. She always loves hearing stories about me

473
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,960
Speaker 2: and my brother as a kid, and I was telling

474
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,680
Speaker 2: her about my teenage bedroom and I.

475
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:41,880
Speaker 3: Was like, I'll show you a picture one day. I've

476
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:42,399
Speaker 3: got pictures.

477
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 2: And she said, you had a phone when you were little,

478
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,040
Speaker 2: and I was like, oh boy, that's what it's like

479
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,639
Speaker 2: these days. She is so and I had to explain that,

480
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 2: you know, this phone, camera and a phone is kind

481
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,040
Speaker 2: of a new thing, Like they used to be two

482
00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:58,280
Speaker 2: different pieces of equipment.

483
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,160
Speaker 1: Yes, they were two very bulky different pieces of equipment.

484
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 3: And a phone used to be attached to your wall

485
00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 3: in your kitchen.

486
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:09,919
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's true. But if you were, you know,

487
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:12,800
Speaker 1: super wealthy, you have one of those really really long.

488
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,640
Speaker 2: Hold you're to say that, because that's exactly the deal.

489
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,640
Speaker 2: So the courtship dive is when the male is trying

490
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,760
Speaker 2: to attract the female for a little lovin. They will

491
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:26,920
Speaker 2: fly up in the air really high, about fifty or

492
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 2: sixty feet, and then dive bomb toward the female as

493
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 2: fast as it can go.

494
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,360
Speaker 3: And they are flying the whole way.

495
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,000
Speaker 2: They're not just they don't tuck the wing back and

496
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,200
Speaker 2: the wings back like you're parachuting or something like. They're

497
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,440
Speaker 2: flying as fast as they can right at this lady's

498
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,760
Speaker 2: face and within inches of her head, going full tilt,

499
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 2: they just pull up real quick and they hit her

500
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 2: in the arm twice and say two for flinching.

501
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,720
Speaker 1: They put it on the brakes and she flies right by.

502
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,640
Speaker 2: But that's what they do is crazy. They fly right

503
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,520
Speaker 2: at their face and then stop. If the female gets

504
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 2: a little turned on, she might flit about in the

505
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 2: air with them. And then that's where people might think, oh,

506
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,240
Speaker 2: look at those two hummingbirds are up in the air

507
00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:09,879
Speaker 2: having sex.

508
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:11,640
Speaker 3: Not true.

509
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,639
Speaker 1: No, And maybe your mom would tell you that you

510
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 1: need to leave the room because hummingbirds are doing it

511
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,480
Speaker 1: in mid air. But that's not what they're doing. They

512
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:25,520
Speaker 1: actually they actually copulate perched on a branch.

513
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,000
Speaker 3: Okay, now I do that, air man.

514
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:35,000
Speaker 1: The female lands on the branch. Sometimes, like you said,

515
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,320
Speaker 1: she'll join them in the air. Other times she'll just

516
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,520
Speaker 1: be like, come on down here, you you win, let's go,

517
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:45,320
Speaker 1: and the male mounts her from behind on the branch,

518
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,800
Speaker 1: and just like with everything else, the hummingbirds are super

519
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 1: quick at sex too. Apparently it takes about four seconds

520
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,680
Speaker 1: and then that's it, like wambam, thank you, ma'am.

521
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,600
Speaker 2: Yep, and the male flies away. He doesn't around and

522
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,600
Speaker 2: see if it took. He goes on to have sex

523
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:08,119
Speaker 2: with another female, and the lady goes like, what is

524
00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 2: this a fern bar?

525
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:11,800
Speaker 1: Who are you? Jack tripper?

526
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,120
Speaker 2: And so she goes off and builds a nest and

527
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 2: does all the parenting. Like I said, you know, they

528
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 2: don't mate for life. They don't even stick around after

529
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,360
Speaker 2: they mate at all. It's just they're in, they're out,

530
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 2: they're gone.

531
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,720
Speaker 1: And I mean you might think, well, that's that's a

532
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 1: pretty big bummer. Poor, poor poor lady mail poor, yeah,

533
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,480
Speaker 1: poor lady hummingbirds. That's exactly how they want it. Because,

534
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 1: like we said, as the species is known as or

535
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 1: all of the species, the hummingbird is known as the

536
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,159
Speaker 1: most territorial bird, so it seems, at least as far

537
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,119
Speaker 1: as natural selection is concerned, females prefer this arrangement no

538
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,919
Speaker 1: pair in printing or mating pair and printing, to where

539
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,320
Speaker 1: they just do all the work themselves, because that means

540
00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: that they can also have their own access to their

541
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,720
Speaker 1: food source, to where no matter what the male hummingbird

542
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:06,760
Speaker 1: is going to bring the table and say child bearing

543
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,840
Speaker 1: or whatever, it's not worth the food that this female

544
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,560
Speaker 1: would have to share. And that's where their territoriality comes from.

545
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: Because remember, hummingbirds live on this edge of survival where

546
00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,280
Speaker 1: if they go for hours without food, they will die.

547
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,520
Speaker 1: So they're really really protective of their food source to

548
00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 1: the point where a female hummingbird would preferably raised young

549
00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 1: on her own then share her food source with the male.

550
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's kind of cool.

551
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,560
Speaker 2: Actually, I get the picture that the female hummingbird is like,

552
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 2: I need you for one thing. It takes four seconds,

553
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 2: and believe me, if I could go to a sperm bank,

554
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:44,920
Speaker 2: I would prefer that.

555
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:46,640
Speaker 3: Honestly, I thought you.

556
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,640
Speaker 1: Were going to say, believe me, you're going to have

557
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:49,520
Speaker 1: the time of your.

558
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,080
Speaker 2: Life that those four seconds will be a wild ride,

559
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:52,520
Speaker 2: my friend.

560
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,280
Speaker 1: That's right. Come meet me on this branch over here, baby,

561
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 1: and those it's gonna be a wait, it's going to

562
00:28:58,480 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 1: be a stone gasney.

563
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:02,360
Speaker 3: Hey, babe, come here.

564
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,360
Speaker 2: So those gorgets that we were talking about, those really colorful, iridescent,

565
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,520
Speaker 2: sort of fluffy chest and neck feathers of the male.

566
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,719
Speaker 2: Like with many animals, the more brightly colored and showy

567
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 2: that is, the more the female might be attracted because

568
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:25,160
Speaker 2: that might indicate that male bird's fitness because you know,

569
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,560
Speaker 2: you got to it takes a lot of work to

570
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 2: keep that hairstyle up, so he must be pretty pretty

571
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 2: strong and have, you know, pretty good at organizing his

572
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:36,440
Speaker 2: day to day list to.

573
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 1: Do effectively the exact same signals that Joe Dirt put

574
00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,360
Speaker 1: out with his hair. You know, he was obviously very

575
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:49,560
Speaker 1: genetically fit and ready to get I never saw that,

576
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 1: you should. It's definitely it's got a lot of heart.

577
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,400
Speaker 1: I think I say that every time you say you

578
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 1: never saw it, but it's worth checking out for sure.

579
00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,040
Speaker 1: It's one of those ones. You know, some don't age

580
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:04,400
Speaker 1: very well. I think it came poorly aged right out

581
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,040
Speaker 1: of the production facility. But that's one of the great

582
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,040
Speaker 1: beauties of it. It's definitely worth seeing.

583
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 2: Chuck Well, speaking of aged right out of the shoot.

584
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,840
Speaker 2: That's kind of the deal with hummingbird babies too. They say,

585
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,239
Speaker 2: the mom doesn't there's not a lot of teaching, and like, here,

586
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 2: let me show you the ropes. It's kind of like,

587
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 2: all right, this is the world. You've been hatched from

588
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 2: your little pea sized egg. Now go out there and

589
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 2: be a hummingbird. Learn it all on your own, kiddo.

590
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,360
Speaker 1: But what's amazing, though, is that they do learn this

591
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 1: on their own. They have astounding memories, to the point

592
00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 1: where when they migrate people who put out feeders, which

593
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,880
Speaker 1: we'll talk about in a little bit four hummingbirds, note

594
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 1: that the same ones, or what they believe is the

595
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: same one, comes back year after year. And what's even

596
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,480
Speaker 1: more astounding, frequently on the same day of the year,

597
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,480
Speaker 1: the same date, the same humming bird will come back

598
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 1: a year after year on his or her migration, right,

599
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,320
Speaker 1: and that they just understand this, they know, and part

600
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 1: of it, yes, is following flowers and the blooming patterns

601
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,720
Speaker 1: of flowers. But they also think it they might have

602
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,400
Speaker 1: some sort of magnetic compass built in that possibly part

603
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,680
Speaker 1: of their pinial gland, which is light sensitive, is used

604
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,560
Speaker 1: manages to use the sun as a compass, and that

605
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,360
Speaker 1: they have astounding memories somehow, some way, because apparently their

606
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,240
Speaker 1: brain is about the size of a grain of rice

607
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 1: in most cases.

608
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 3: Yeah.

609
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 2: And the other thing they'll do too, is if they

610
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 2: have speaking of coming back to the buffet, if they

611
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:39,960
Speaker 2: have a patch of flowers, let's say, on your property

612
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:42,840
Speaker 2: that they just love, they'll be like, all right, this

613
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 2: is this is mine.

614
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,040
Speaker 3: I'm just gonna go ahead and claim this. I'm going

615
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 3: to come.

616
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,520
Speaker 2: Back here because you've got all the good stuff. My

617
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 2: beak fits that flower just perfectly. And we'll talk here

618
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,120
Speaker 2: in a minute more about what they eat and why.

619
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 2: But they will they will fiercely protect that little patch

620
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,280
Speaker 2: of flower that they love so much and go back

621
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:03,360
Speaker 2: to it time and time again.

622
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,240
Speaker 1: Yes, So that's where their territoriality comes from, is protecting

623
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,120
Speaker 1: food sources, and not just food sources, like I've been

624
00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,560
Speaker 1: growing this patch of flowers all summer. Stay away. They

625
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,880
Speaker 1: could stop somewhere for a half of an hour and

626
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 1: or colloquially half hour and will still protect like that

627
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: flower patch that they stopped by if somebody comes along

628
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:30,600
Speaker 1: and tries to get it. And the whole reason that

629
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,400
Speaker 1: they do this is because they eat nectar along with

630
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,760
Speaker 1: some other stuff, and it takes a really long time

631
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:41,000
Speaker 1: for a flower to produce nectar. So the hummingbird would

632
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,080
Speaker 1: love to just have to go to the flower once

633
00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 1: and get the full dose of nectar. But they can't

634
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,480
Speaker 1: just wait around because other things will come and eat

635
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 1: the nectar they've been hanging out for. So they've developed

636
00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:55,520
Speaker 1: this secondary behavior, which is territoriality, where they'll chase off

637
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,120
Speaker 1: other hummingbirds. They'll chase off o their birds. They've been

638
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:01,120
Speaker 1: known to chase off hawks even if the hawk comes

639
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:02,520
Speaker 1: a little close for their comfort.

640
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they'll you know, I think early on in

641
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:10,680
Speaker 2: the Hummingbird Council of nineteen fifteen, they said all the

642
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,040
Speaker 2: socialist hummingbirds got together and said, hey, if we all relax,

643
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 2: just let that nectar build up, it'll be a lot

644
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,080
Speaker 2: easier to eat and all the other you know, the

645
00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 2: little I'm not gonna I don't want to get political here,

646
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,000
Speaker 2: but there were some hummingbirds that were like, no way, man,

647
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,040
Speaker 2: I'm not playing ball. I'm going to get in there

648
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,000
Speaker 2: and get that nectar whenever I feel like it, right,

649
00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:32,840
Speaker 2: So the humbirds couldn't work it out.

650
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:36,800
Speaker 1: No, and the ones, the other ones that wouldn't go

651
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 1: along with have fired all the air traffic controlling hummingbirds.

652
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,680
Speaker 1: That's right, Yeah, I think we shoud take a break.

653
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 1: I think.

654
00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:46,479
Speaker 2: So let's take a break and we'll finish up about

655
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:49,720
Speaker 2: what they eat and all about those little feeders that

656
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,320
Speaker 2: you have in your backyard right after this.

657
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:24,160
Speaker 1: Okay, chuck. So everybody knows that hummingbirds eat nectar, and

658
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:27,880
Speaker 1: that's definitely true, and they're very well adapted to eat nectar.

659
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,600
Speaker 1: They have this tube like tongue that apparently uses a

660
00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:35,520
Speaker 1: wicking action to soak up nectar from a flower on

661
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,840
Speaker 1: a plant, and they do this. This tongue can actually

662
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 1: carry a load of nectar into their mouths like thirteen

663
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:42,400
Speaker 1: times a second.

664
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:43,680
Speaker 3: That's over fast.

665
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:47,520
Speaker 1: Not that surprising that they're doing this super fast too,

666
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,360
Speaker 1: but it's still pretty impressive. But it's not just nectar.

667
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:53,360
Speaker 1: It's not the only thing that they eat. And actually

668
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:55,840
Speaker 1: people found out the hard way that they didn't just

669
00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:01,160
Speaker 1: eat nectar because captured hummingbirds who were studied in the

670
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:04,839
Speaker 1: in captivity died pretty quickly when all they were given

671
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,760
Speaker 1: was like a sugar water solution or even a nectar solution.

672
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,719
Speaker 1: And so they came to realize that they actually eat

673
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:14,520
Speaker 1: a lot of insects too, And that's one of the

674
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,279
Speaker 1: great things about hummingbirds. In addition to being pollinators, they're

675
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:21,040
Speaker 1: also really big at insect controls. And one of the

676
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,960
Speaker 1: insects that they eat are bloodsucking mosquitoes.

677
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:25,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, mosquitoes, little spiders.

678
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,239
Speaker 2: And this is in addition to I don't think we

679
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:33,000
Speaker 2: mentioned the one thousand to two thousand flower blossoms that

680
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:37,279
Speaker 2: they will go poke every single day. So that's why

681
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,400
Speaker 2: I mean when we talk about these these hummingbirds are

682
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:44,480
Speaker 2: food scavengers. Up to two thousand flowers a day. That's

683
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 2: pretty intense, it really is.

684
00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,360
Speaker 1: So that makes them very very important pollinators. Like we

685
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:51,520
Speaker 1: said in the Andes, where you know you're above the

686
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,080
Speaker 1: insect line, it's just up the hummingbirds to pollinate flowers.

687
00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,120
Speaker 1: So when they're going from flower to flour getting that nectar,

688
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:02,040
Speaker 1: if you pretend that evolution is a living, breathing thing,

689
00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:07,120
Speaker 1: evolution has created this arrangement where the flower produces a

690
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:12,000
Speaker 1: nectar treat in exchange or to attract the little hummingbird.

691
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:14,799
Speaker 1: And then when the hummingbird's getting its little nectar treat,

692
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,800
Speaker 1: the flower just kind of goes, here's a little pollen

693
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,840
Speaker 1: on your forehead. Go find another flower that looks like me,

694
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,520
Speaker 1: and you'll find another nectar treat and then transfer this

695
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,400
Speaker 1: pollen while you do so. They pollinate a lot of

696
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:30,640
Speaker 1: important stuff and in addition to to eating lots of bugs.

697
00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:32,759
Speaker 1: So they're just all around great animals.

698
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, and they love that nectar.

699
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,360
Speaker 2: If you're thinking about flowers in your own garden, if

700
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,200
Speaker 2: you want to track some hummingbirds, they want a sugar

701
00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:44,200
Speaker 2: content of about twenty six percent. It can't be too

702
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,959
Speaker 2: It can't be like a Wendy's frosty because they're using

703
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,000
Speaker 2: that tongue. It acts sort of like a straw, right,

704
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,080
Speaker 2: So you got to get that spoon with the frosty.

705
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:54,759
Speaker 2: You can't suck that thing up. If you try, you're

706
00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:56,479
Speaker 2: going to pass out in your car while you're driving

707
00:36:57,719 --> 00:37:01,920
Speaker 2: at cross And that sugar concentrate it can't be too

708
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:05,560
Speaker 2: too sticky because like I said, they're sucking that thing up.

709
00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:11,960
Speaker 2: Oftentimes you'll see red or orange petals or bracts they're

710
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:16,040
Speaker 2: often long and tubular because that long tongue and beak

711
00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,600
Speaker 2: can get in there when others can't. So that kind

712
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:21,880
Speaker 2: of gives them the market cornered on that particular flower.

713
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 1: It keeps out posers, it does.

714
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,880
Speaker 2: And this is the cool thing, those flowers that you

715
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:30,040
Speaker 2: see that sort of trumpet downward. You know, unless you

716
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,239
Speaker 2: can hover, you're out of luck there. So they love

717
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:33,560
Speaker 2: these things because they can hover.

718
00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:34,840
Speaker 3: Yep.

719
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of Actually, there's a lot of

720
00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,040
Speaker 1: plants that have flowers that kind of fit this bill.

721
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:42,879
Speaker 1: And most huming birds aren't.

722
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:44,480
Speaker 3: I don't really fit the bill.

723
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,560
Speaker 1: Man. That was an unintentional I guess fit the beak.

724
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:50,359
Speaker 3: They don't build well, you.

725
00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:54,040
Speaker 1: Know the duck's bill and ducks are birds, right, right,

726
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:59,520
Speaker 1: are they so? But they're not super specialized. They'll eat

727
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,960
Speaker 1: just about anything that they can get necked or out of.

728
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,719
Speaker 1: But there are definitely kinds of flowers that are have

729
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 1: kind of co evolved with hummingbirds to kind of give

730
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,160
Speaker 1: them what they're looking for more easily. But one of

731
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 1: the problems with human development, as with all things, is

732
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:20,799
Speaker 1: we kind of have supplanted a lot of those kinds

733
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,600
Speaker 1: of flowers. The good news is if you have heard

734
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,279
Speaker 1: all this and you're like, I want to encourage hummingbirds

735
00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:29,280
Speaker 1: to keep living, you can plant these flowers pretty easy.

736
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 2: Yeah. I sent this list to Emily. Actually, because we

737
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:36,200
Speaker 2: have our garden is very Our garden is very much

738
00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:42,839
Speaker 2: built for use, for use in Emily's budding interest in herbalism,

739
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,200
Speaker 2: and use for the insects that we know and the

740
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,960
Speaker 2: birds that we know inhabit our area. So it's not

741
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:51,719
Speaker 2: just like, oh, that's pretty like we want it to

742
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,160
Speaker 2: be a real thing that works for our local environment.

743
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 1: I can't remember who said it, but there's a famous

744
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:02,600
Speaker 1: quote that nothing useless can ever truly be beautiful. Interesting,

745
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:04,560
Speaker 1: and I found that that is one of the truest

746
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:06,400
Speaker 1: things ever said.

747
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,800
Speaker 3: Nothing useless, useless.

748
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,560
Speaker 1: Can never truly be beautiful.

749
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,040
Speaker 3: I think that broke my brain. What does that mean?

750
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:21,239
Speaker 1: It just means that use like usefulness, like the ability

751
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:26,719
Speaker 1: for something to to have a purpose, is an important

752
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:30,800
Speaker 1: part of its existence, and so just beauty alone doesn't

753
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:32,080
Speaker 1: justify the exists.

754
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,800
Speaker 2: Okay, that's what I thought it was saying, But something

755
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 2: felt like a double negative in there.

756
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:37,719
Speaker 3: That kind of broke my brain a little bit.

757
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,719
Speaker 1: You overthought I don't think so.

758
00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:47,400
Speaker 2: B Balm the old trumpet creeper, yeah, which was Miles

759
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,239
Speaker 2: Davis's nickname for a little while.

760
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:52,439
Speaker 1: When he was drilling holes in bathroom wall.

761
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:57,080
Speaker 2: The cardinal flower, the columbine, and the coral honeysuckle are

762
00:39:57,080 --> 00:40:00,400
Speaker 2: all very hummingbird friendly flowers and play so you can

763
00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,720
Speaker 2: put in your yard. And I sent that to Emily,

764
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:04,640
Speaker 2: and I think we have a couple of these. We

765
00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:06,520
Speaker 2: used to have columbine and dompe. She's going to bring

766
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,120
Speaker 2: that back and we're gonna see if we can get

767
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:11,160
Speaker 2: some more hummingbird action in our backyard.

768
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,239
Speaker 1: That's awesome, some hot, sticky hummingbird action.

769
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:15,440
Speaker 3: Four seconds of pleasure.

770
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:20,040
Speaker 1: So you can also just go get yourself a hummingbird feed.

771
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:20,359
Speaker 3: Yeah.

772
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:24,879
Speaker 1: And a lot of people put red food dye in there,

773
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,480
Speaker 1: and that is actually a controversial move. There's some concern

774
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:33,960
Speaker 1: among hummingbird enthusiasts that the dye actually can be harmful

775
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 1: over long periods of time. Maybe it can build up

776
00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:39,880
Speaker 1: because again, hummingbirds have very tiny organs because they're a

777
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:43,319
Speaker 1: very tiny bird, so introducing this artificial red dye might

778
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,800
Speaker 1: not be the best idea. Other people say that's totally unsubstantiated.

779
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,440
Speaker 1: There's never been any proof that it actually harms hummingbirds.

780
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,960
Speaker 1: And then the other people say, back, it's totally unnecessary.

781
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,839
Speaker 1: The bird's gonna find the sugar water either way, So

782
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:01,040
Speaker 1: why add the red dye just in case it is harmful?

783
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:05,280
Speaker 1: If it's just unnecessary. So most most hummingbird enthusiasts say,

784
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,040
Speaker 1: don't put red dye in your hummingbird sugar water.

785
00:41:08,239 --> 00:41:12,440
Speaker 2: Yes, and that solution mixture is important. You can't just

786
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:15,800
Speaker 2: don't just dump a bunch of syrup and water together,

787
00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:19,000
Speaker 2: or a bunch of sugarcane or whatever it is four

788
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,680
Speaker 2: parts water to one part sugar, because they need a

789
00:41:22,719 --> 00:41:26,440
Speaker 2: specific sugar content of about twenty six percent, and that

790
00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:28,640
Speaker 2: four to one makes about twenty five percent if my

791
00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 2: math is correct.

792
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:30,319
Speaker 3: It does.

793
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,680
Speaker 1: It's close to close enough. So one of the other

794
00:41:33,719 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 1: ways you can help hummingbirds too is in the most

795
00:41:36,719 --> 00:41:41,000
Speaker 1: delicious way by choosing coffee that has grown in a

796
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:44,080
Speaker 1: situation that allows hummingbirds to thrive.

797
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:45,799
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is I didn't know about this. This is

798
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:46,319
Speaker 3: really cool.

799
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:50,279
Speaker 2: There is certified bird friendly coffee. Because we were talking

800
00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:53,720
Speaker 2: about the andes and the fact that the birds travel

801
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 2: great distances and elevations up and down these mountains, and

802
00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:02,480
Speaker 2: coffee is grown about halfway up these tropical mountains, and

803
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,080
Speaker 2: they have a lot of great you know, flowers under

804
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:08,160
Speaker 2: the shady canopy there, and it's a really nice home

805
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:12,680
Speaker 2: for hummingbirds there. And if you drink bird friendly coffee,

806
00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:15,239
Speaker 2: that means that they're they have these flowers and they're

807
00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:16,960
Speaker 2: making sure they take care of these flowers.

808
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:20,520
Speaker 1: You're right, And yeah, it's it's grown in a kind

809
00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:24,320
Speaker 1: of like a simulated forest, as closely simulated as possible.

810
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,359
Speaker 1: So you want to look for something that says it's

811
00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:31,799
Speaker 1: bird friendly, rainforest alliance and or shade grown, and that

812
00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:35,919
Speaker 1: probably means that hummingbirds are thriving on those coffee plantations.

813
00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:39,440
Speaker 1: And I went and looked in my beloved Batdorf and

814
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,600
Speaker 1: bronze and coffees are all bird friendly of course, land

815
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:43,360
Speaker 1: shade grown.

816
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:45,080
Speaker 3: Is that what you do?

817
00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:48,279
Speaker 1: It's very Oh yeah, yeah, same here. I'm crazy for that.

818
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:52,680
Speaker 1: So I've got a great, great blend for you, Trader

819
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:59,080
Speaker 1: Joe's Decaf Beans half and the other half Batdorf from

820
00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:05,160
Speaker 1: Bronzon Whirling Dervish. It's it's the most amazing combination ever

821
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:06,000
Speaker 1: I think of that a shot.

822
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,760
Speaker 2: I don't you know, I'm not drinking coffee now because

823
00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,920
Speaker 2: of it's not winter. But Emily still has her latte

824
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,719
Speaker 2: every morning and she she just has their you know,

825
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:16,160
Speaker 2: their espresso beans.

826
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,640
Speaker 1: Coffee is a three hundred and sixty five day a

827
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:20,879
Speaker 1: year activity check.

828
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,000
Speaker 3: I know, not for me, but I get it.

829
00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:28,759
Speaker 1: That's okay. I'm not going to yum your yuck very

830
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:34,160
Speaker 1: well done. So that's it for hummingbirds, right, that's it. Well,

831
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,520
Speaker 1: if you want to know more about hummingbirds, get one

832
00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:38,439
Speaker 1: to land in your hand and study it up close

833
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:41,320
Speaker 1: to personal, but don't mess with it because it's protected

834
00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,480
Speaker 1: under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of nineteen eighteen in

835
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,840
Speaker 1: the United States, and you could land in jail and

836
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:48,920
Speaker 1: pay up to a two hundred thousand dollars fine for

837
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:53,040
Speaker 1: harmon good. And since I said two hundred thousand dollars

838
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:56,319
Speaker 1: fine everybody, that means, of course, is time for listener mayl.

839
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:02,600
Speaker 3: About the exploding birthmark.

840
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:05,239
Speaker 2: Hey guys, big fan of the show which I listened

841
00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,640
Speaker 2: to while I'm cooking breakfast, doing laundry and staring, oh boy,

842
00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:12,520
Speaker 2: get this, and staring at one hundred thousand row Excel

843
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:13,960
Speaker 2: spreadsheets for work.

844
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:18,320
Speaker 1: Man, my soul just shuddered.

845
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:21,160
Speaker 2: I know I recently listened to the episode on birthmarks

846
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:22,360
Speaker 2: and thought you would like to hear the story of

847
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:26,000
Speaker 2: my birthmark that exploded. I was born with two birthmarks,

848
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,920
Speaker 2: both of which have since been removed. One of those

849
00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:31,480
Speaker 2: birthmarks was dark brownish red in a.

850
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:33,040
Speaker 3: Circle on the inside of my right thigh.

851
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:35,600
Speaker 2: I didn't think much of it because it wasn't very visible, and,

852
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:38,720
Speaker 2: like you said on the show, lots of people have birthmarks. However,

853
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,440
Speaker 2: when I was in the third grade, my family and

854
00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:42,799
Speaker 2: I were about to leave for my aunt's house to

855
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,880
Speaker 2: celebrate Thanksgiving when I realized my pants.

856
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:46,839
Speaker 3: Kept sticking to my leg.

857
00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:47,560
Speaker 1: Oh man.

858
00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:49,920
Speaker 2: I went to the bathroom and removed my pants, and

859
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 2: I saw blood running down my leg. As a third

860
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,560
Speaker 2: grader who had not yet even learned about menstruation, I

861
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:59,160
Speaker 2: assumed I was dying, so I freaked out. Turns out

862
00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:03,160
Speaker 2: my birthmark was result of a vascular malformation the size

863
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,600
Speaker 2: of a small bouncy ball in my inner thigh. My gosh,

864
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:09,080
Speaker 2: the tangled up ball of veins had ruptured that Thanksgiving

865
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:10,480
Speaker 2: morning and I had to go to the er, where

866
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:13,000
Speaker 2: they stuck a tiny piece of foam on my leg

867
00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:17,680
Speaker 2: and probably charges about two thousand dollars because hospitals. A

868
00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:19,560
Speaker 2: few months later, I had it surgically removed, but now

869
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:22,560
Speaker 2: have a three inch long scar instead of a birthmark.

870
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,200
Speaker 2: But because of my surgery, I wasn't allowed to run

871
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:27,520
Speaker 2: for a few weeks and I got out of running

872
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:28,040
Speaker 2: the mile.

873
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:29,600
Speaker 3: So who's the winner.

874
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:34,359
Speaker 2: Now, Lucky, Thanks for helping me. Seem really knowledgeable on

875
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:35,600
Speaker 2: very specific topics.

876
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:36,760
Speaker 3: And that is from Bailey.

877
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:38,760
Speaker 1: Nice Bailey. That is a great story.

878
00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:40,120
Speaker 3: Pretty good.

879
00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:43,719
Speaker 1: Bailey left out that ironically, both the birthmark and the

880
00:45:43,719 --> 00:45:45,240
Speaker 1: scar were in the shape of satan.

881
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:48,960
Speaker 2: And by the way, Bailey says in the PS that

882
00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:55,360
Speaker 2: the other birthmark was hemangioma on the bottom lip that

883
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:57,160
Speaker 2: was removed.

884
00:45:57,719 --> 00:46:00,279
Speaker 3: So man, that's interesting stuff.

885
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:02,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, very interesting. And what was the fact that I

886
00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:05,799
Speaker 1: kept saying over and over again about homongiomas that they're

887
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:07,840
Speaker 1: a tangled cluster of blood vessels.

888
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,719
Speaker 3: Oh I don't think so, okay, So maybe they were.

889
00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:12,160
Speaker 1: Two of the same kind of birthmark.

890
00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:13,040
Speaker 3: Yeah maybe so.

891
00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:15,080
Speaker 1: Well, thanks a lot, Bailey, And if you want to

892
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:16,879
Speaker 1: get in touch with us like Bailey did and share

893
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:19,960
Speaker 1: an amazing story, We're always up for those You can

894
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:22,839
Speaker 1: get in touch with us via email these days at

895
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:27,360
Speaker 1: stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com.

896
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:31,040
Speaker 3: You Know Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio.

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00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,760
Speaker 3: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

898
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,840
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